


Science the shit out of this

by whitchry9



Series: Avocados and Avengers [10]
Category: Daredevil (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Blindness, Canon Disabled Character, Gen, Science, Science Experiments, handwavey science
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-06
Updated: 2016-07-22
Packaged: 2018-07-21 20:18:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7402432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitchry9/pseuds/whitchry9
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Matt negotiated time in an updated Iron Man suit for a day of being subjected to tests by Tony and Bruce. He got his time in the suit, and now it's time to pay up.</p><p>Contains some potentially handwavey science, which I explain by Tony Stark.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to bestdamnavocados for making sure my science isn't completely wrong.
> 
> I did however take liberties and ignored some of her comments because *handwaves* SCIENCE!
> 
> Title is a quote from The Martian. <3

“Colours.”

“I remember them, but I can't differentiate.”

“Really?”

Matt rolled his eyes. “Really Tony. Do you think that there is some magic way to differentiate between colour by touch?”

Tony shuffled. “Well, I thought that maybe you had some way-”

“Nope.”

“Then how do you match clothing?”

Matt rolled his eyes again, more aggressively this time. “Like any other blind person. Do we really need to go over the things that you can google?”

“I guess not,” he muttered. “Sorry.”

Matt nodded. “Now, look. You've got the rest of the day to do whatever you want, within the defined limits, so how about we get some real science done instead of...” he waved a hand. “Whatever it is you're asking me now.”

“He has a point Tony,” Bruce pointed out, walking into the lab.

Tony threw his hands up. “Fine, yes. Forgive me for asking if you could differentiate between colours. I was thinking we could start with hearing tests. I want to see how good your hearing really is. I've got the equipment here already, don't ask why-”

“I'm asking,” Matt interrupted.

Tony waved a hand. “Fine, whatever. I wanted to make sure the aids I made for Clint were the best they could be, so I might have tested his hearing myself. No big deal.”

“And yet we couldn't find any of those records when we went to trial,” Matt sighed.

“What?”

Matt waved a hand. “We defended Clint when he was charged with resisting arrest and a couple of other things not long ago. A large part of our defense hinged on his level of hearing loss. Would have been nice if we'd had those records.”

Tony shrugged. “Are you up for it?”

“Sure. I don't think I've had a hearing test done since I was a kid. The nuns were concerned, of course, but I don't think it showed anything out of the ordinary.”

“They probably weren't looking for anything out of the ordinary,” Tony replied. “Bruce, wanna join?”

Matt had forgotten Bruce was even in the same room.

He hummed. “I've got something to do. Let me know when you're done though, I'd like to see the results.”

“Can do,” Tony told him. “Come on Matt. It's on the medical floor.”

Matt groaned.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, no one likes it there.”

 

Tony led him into a sound proof room that almost was. Most soundproofing didn't stand up to Matt's hearing, but this one was well made, and almost worked.

“Headphones,” Tony told him. “You sit in here, push the button when you hear a noise, blah blah.”

“Blah blah,” Matt echoed. “Got it.”

 

The test took about half an hour, Matt obediently pressing buttons whenever he heard a sound. There were a few times he was unsure whether the sound was coming from the headphones or from somewhere outside the testing room. It was difficult for him to let his hearing stretch to its fullest potential while still blocking out unnecessary things like his own heartbeat.

 

Eventually Tony stopped, pulling Matt out of the room and leading him back down to the lab.

“Bruce, look what I've got,” he called, brandishing a print out like a flag.

Matt waited for Tony to let him in on the secret, since he hadn't yet shared what the results were.

Bruce emerged from a second room, smelling of nitrile and chemicals.

“How did it go?” he asked.

“Off the chart. And when I say off the chart, what I really mean is, off the chart in one axis and also off the chart on the other axis, which is pretty impressive.”

“Okay?” Matt said. “Can you explain that in terms I can understand? I don't have a physics degree, or whatever it is you need to understand this.”

Bruce sighed. “Okay, so hearing is measured in comparison to what a normal healthy person is able to hear. That's the zero mark. A result around that is considered normal, but your hearing was so much better that it wasn't even on the standard chart. We measured the range of frequencies you could hear in Hertz and the range of volumes you can hear in decibels. So you can hear sounds much quieter than other people can, and way beyond what is considered standard. We don't even know how far beyond, because the equipment isn't set up to measure it. We'd have to fiddle with some things if we wanted to find out where exactly you fell. And in terms of frequency, you hear things at much higher frequency than normal people. I'm not sure how much higher, since I'm not an expert, but you're hearing things in the frequency range of dolphins. I think most people have a hearing range of around 9 octaves, but you're definitely hearing more than that, maybe 11 or 12.”

“Huh,” Matt said. “That's... cool I guess.”

“It might explain why you're able to navigate so well. If you can hear a much wider range of frequencies and volumes, then you might be able to use them to differentiate between materials. After all, sounds are just waves that pass through the air and objects. By recognizing the differences between the soundwaves, you can differentiate between different materials. Like radar. Or echolocation, just like dolphins,” Tony offered.

Well, at least he didn't say bats. Matt was thankful for that.

“Jarvis, what animal has the best hearing range?”

“That would be the porpoise, with a hearing range of around 150 kHz.”

“I wonder who would win in a fight,” Tony mused. “Daredevil or a porpoise.”

“On land or in water?” Clint asked.

Tony startled. “Jesus, when did you get there?”

“Around the time you started talking about how great Matt's hearing is. Not that I'm jealous or anything, but whatever.”

Matt smirked. “Did you not hear him Tony?”

Tony scowled. “Bite me.”

Bruce chuckled. “You should know better than to say that to Barton by now.”

Matt was pretty sure Tony rolled his eyes. “Go away bird boy. We're testing Matt's abilities, and we only have...” he checked his watch. “Seven more hours before we have to release him.”

“Sounds like you're been lawyered,” Clint said, sounding impressed. “I'm assuming you got something in return Matt?”

“Of course,” he grinned. “What kind of lawyer would I be if I didn't?”

“He also negotiated for food and breaks. A damn good one I'd say,” Tony told them.

“I'm not going to let you poke and prod me all day for science on an empty stomach,” Matt retorted.

“Yeah, whatever. Okay, so the hearing test is done. What's next Jarvis?”

“I believe you wanted to measure just noticeable differences in Mr Murdock's hearing, which would likely require the use of the sound booth.”

Matt sighed. “Back into the booth I go?”

“Back into the booth you go,” Tony agreed.

 

This time, Matt had to push buttons when the sound changed in volume. Tony started off with big differences that Matt was sure anyone could have noticed, but they soon changed to almost imperceptible differences, ranging through low notes to high notes. Then it got to a point where he wasn't sure if it was even changing at all.

 

“Okay Matt, we're going to switch to changing frequency, so now push the button when it changes pitch.”

It was the same again as they went through different volumes and Matt had to determine when (if) the note changed pitch. And again, they got to a point where Matt couldn't tell if anything was even changing.

 

“Okay, that's probably enough. Jarvis is mapping out the data and should have some answers for us in a minute. Come on out and we'll see.”

 

Matt emerged back into the world with all its noises and chaos. He almost missed it. Almost.

 

“So, am I off the charts for this as well?” Matt asked, sitting himself down on a stool next to Tony, who was playing with something on a tablet.

“Not quite, but it is interesting. I'm just trying to get it into a format that you can read. Why aren't holograms tactile?”

Matt snorted. “Yeah Tony, why aren't they?”

“Shut up. I'll try and get the graph printed off, but basically, your hearing isn't just better, it can also detect smaller differences in stimuli.”

“Explain, and remember that I only took high school physics, and nearly failed it.”

Tony sighed. “Okay, I'll try. So, for people with normal hearing, they can tell if a sound is different in frequency if it's it's a low frequency sound, and it's different by 1 Hz. So 500 and 501 Hz, most people would be able to tell the difference between. Once you get above 4000 Hz the just noticeable difference is about 8 Hz. The JND is a constant proportion, so it changes, but it's always the same relative to the frequency or decibel level or whatever you're measuring. In terms of volume, a change of about 1dB is needed to determine if a sound is different, but again, it depends on the starting volume and also varies with frequency.”

“But mine is better?”

“Oh yeah. At 500 Hz you could detect a difference of only 0.5 Hz, which is impressive. You're pretty consistent across the board at being more attuned to slight differences in stimuli, which is why I wanted to graph it for you.”

“So my hearing range is better, and also more precise than most people's?”

“Seems so. That would certainly explain some of the things you're able to do. But I'm guessing this is more than the whole 'when you lose one sense the others compensate' thing. Although I could test Clint's vision,” he muttered.

“I'll be sure to warn him,” Matt replied.

Tony seemed to remember he was in the room. “So your hearing compensates for your vision, but it can't do that completely. How do you navigate? Is it like echolocation? Do soundwaves tell you where objects are in space, how things are moving? What's it like in your brain?”

“A mess, to be honest.”

Tony snorted. “Join the club. I'm serious though. How do you form an impression of your surroundings?”

“My hearing is a big part of it, for sure, but it's not the only thing. I do use soundwaves and how they echo and respond to objects to figure out where things are in space, and what they might be made of, but I also use air currents and temperature changes to predict objects shifting and tell where they're going to be. I think it's one of the reasons I can fight so well, because I can know where my enemy is going to be based on the movement of air. My proprioception, as far as I can tell, is superior to most people, which helps me orient my body in space. And things like vibrations also tell me things like where people are moving, how many of them there are, things like build and weight. And of course, I have scent and taste, which believe me, are more sensitive than I'd like. I can taste people bleeding if I wound them, and that also helps me track them in space.”

“Wow,” Tony said. “Just... wow. No wonder your brain is a mess. I have a hard enough time processing visual information half the time. I can't imagine having to process so many things simultaneously just to be able to navigate.”

“Yeah, it's hard. And exhausting, to be honest. And now matter how attuned my other senses are, they still can't compensate for my vision. I can't scan a crowd of people to find a friend, I have to listen for a heartbeat, if they're someone I know well enough that it's unique to me, or go through person by person trying to match body shape to the one I have stored, or wait for them to speak.”

“So the things that make you well equipped for fighting actually leave you struggling in day to day life.”

Matt nodded, relieved. It seemed like Tony actually understood.

“So the blind man thing isn't an act at all. You are blind, and no amount of superhearing can make up for it. Dude, I am sorry if I ever made it sound like you were faking.”

Matt smiled. “It's okay. You're actually a lot more understanding than Foggy was at first. Although to be fair, he found out under some pretty terrible circumstances, so I can't fault him for being angry.”

“Okay. So your hearing is very important for navigating, but you do use your other senses. What about if you didn't have your hearing? What would happen then?” Tony asked.

“Well, I guess I would have to navigate by touch. I certainly wouldn't be able to do a lot of the things I do now. But the cane, that uses touch and sensation, with only a little bit of hearing, so I would be able to navigate. I wouldn't be able to be Daredevil though, that's for sure. Most of the way I interpret and understand the world depends on my hearing. I can't imagine losing it.”

“Well,” Tony said. “Guess what we're doing next?”

Matt groaned. “I can guess.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

Matt had to hand it to Tony, the combination of the plastic moulded right in his ears and the noise cancelling headphones on top did almost make him completely deaf. He could hear low noises, like impacts and music, but couldn't tell when someone was speaking, let alone make out the words.

And without his hearing, his world had changed from something with shape, definition, movement that he could define and predict, to something unknown.

He didn't like it.

 

Tony had explained how the whole thing would work before placing the moulds in his ears.

“After you're essentially deafened, we're going to put you in a room. You can have your cane or not, whatever you want. I just want to see how you navigate without your hearing. Then once I think you've got it figured out, I'm going to send Bruce in.”

“Why Bruce?” Matt had asked.

“Because he's the one who's the least likely to hurt you. I want you to try and fight him.”

“Without my hearing?” Matt asked.

“Without your hearing,” Tony clarified.

 

So there was Matt, deaf and traditionally blind, feeling his way around a room that Tony had set up for this purpose. So far he'd found a couch and a coffee table. The carpet was plush beneath his feet, reducing the vibrations he could feel through the floor. He'd also found a light switch on one wall, and was making his way to the opposite one when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

Matt swung on instinct and hit the assailant in the face. He felt them go stumbling back.

“Oh my god,” he blurted out. “I'm so sorry. Are you okay?”

The scent of blood in the air told him that no, the person was not okay.

He fumbled for the headphones and pulled them off. Without them, he could almost make out speech.

“I'm sorry,” he repeated, this time almost able to hear himself say the words. He had no idea if he was yelling or speaking in a normal tone. He had a newfound respect for Clint.

“I'm okay,” the person told him. Or he thought so. Bruce, it had to be Bruce. Tony said that Bruce would be the one to come into the room.

Which was stupid, now that he was reflecting on it. Clint could have at least been able to react to Matt's knee jerk response, and wouldn't have ended up with a bloody nose.

He thought that was what was bleeding. Without his hearing, he couldn't really tell.

He yanked the moulded plastic out of his left ear and nearly fell over from the imbalance. He covered his left ear while pulling the plastic out of the right. It was loud, but at least it was even. He suppressed what he didn't need, focusing on his immediate surroundings.

“It's okay Matt, I'm fine. The bleeding's almost stopped.” It was Bruce in the room with him.

“I'm sorry,” he said again.

Bruce attempted a smile. “It's fine. I should have known you would have reacted in that way.”

 

Outside the room, Tony sighed. “I guess that experiment's over.”

“You're damn right it is,” Matt yelled at him.

 

After that failed experiment, they took a break for lunch. Tony ordered in pizza from one of his favourite places in the city, and the rest of the Avengers somehow sensed that there was food and came crawling out of the woodwork. Natasha slipped into the kitchen and grabbed some slices before slipping out just as quietly, and Matt wasn't sure anyone besides him even noticed she'd been there at all.

Clint joined them for pizza, apparently interested in how the rest of the morning had gone, and Bruce had recovered enough from the blow to sit down as well.

 

“So what do you have planned next?” Matt asked over a particularly cheesy slice of Hawaiian.

“I want to do a functional MRI of your brain. See how you're using that occipital lobe since you're not actually... you know, using it for vision.”

“MRI?” Matt asked. “Isn't that the one with the giant magnet?”

“Yep.”

“The one that can rip any metal in your body right out?”

“Well, not exactly, but it wouldn't be good. Why, you got an implant or something?”

Matt shrugged. “Not exactly, but... I don't think it would be exactly safe for me to have one done without x-raying... everything.”

“And that much radiation isn't really good to expose someone to,” Bruce added.

“Okay,” Tony sighed. “MRI is out. CT would be useless to look at functioning. PET scan?” he asked Bruce.

Bruce shook his head. “We're not equipped.”

“What else can we use to look at functioning and activity levels?”

“EEG would measure electrical activity. We could look at event related potentials, see what happens when we induce stimuli, see how his brain produces movement, that sort of thing. See how he uses his brain, what the visual cortex is up to.”

“Okay, that would work. We'll have to figure out at some point if he does have any metal, because an fMRI is really the coolest. But barring that, I'd like to get some blood and run some tests, see if there's any radioactivity floating around in there that we could extract and market.”

His heart said he was kidding, but Matt was still concerned.

 

“So if you're done eating, we could go take the blood now.”

Matt really wasn't, but he swallowed the last bite of his pizza slice and wiped the grease off onto a napkin. Tony led him to the lab, Bruce trailing them. Clint stayed with the pizza. Matt didn't blame him. It was the smart move.

“Okay,” Tony said. “I want baseline labs for him. Electrolytes, blood counts, cholesterol, muscle and liver function, blood type.” He paused. “Do you know your blood type?”

“Should I?” Matt asked.

“Not a lot of people do, but considering the field we're in, it might be helpful to know in case of emergencies. We can test for it.”

“Besides that, what else are you testing for?” Bruce asked. “I need to know how many vials to take.”

“Everything. The normal stuff, of course. And then blood glucose levels, hormones, anything floating around in his blood that's not supposed to be there.”

“That's... not at all concerning,” Matt muttered.

With that said, he dipped out, apparently not fond of the sight of blood.

Bruce slid the needle into his arm and connected a vial to the tubing. “I'll need a few vials then. Sorry about that.”

“It's fine,” Matt told him. And it was. He was patient while Bruce filled at least four vials with blood.

“Last one,” Bruce told him as he removed the needle and pressed a cotton ball to the puncture mark. “Pressure,” he instructed.

Matt listened as he disposed of the needle and labeled the vials. “Feel okay?” Bruce asked.

Matt nodded. “It won't surprise you to hear I've lost more blood than this before.”

Bruce laughed. “It doesn't surprise me, but it sure doesn't make me feel good. At least if you ever need a transfusion, we'll know your blood type, just in case. We'll also have baseline labs so we'll know if something's wrong. Assuming today is baseline.”

Matt shrugged. “Who knows.”

“You have any reaction to bandaids?” Bruce asked.

“What?”

“Some people have allergic like reactions to bandaids. Tony does. It just means I'll tape you up rather than giving you a bandaid for your arm.”

“Oh. No, I don't think so.”

“Good,” Bruce said. “Should probably know about any allergies you have. Do you?”

Matt scrunched his face up. “I don't think I'm allergic to anything?”

Bruce nodded. “Maybe add that to the blood tests,” he noted. He bandaged the cotton ball to Matt's arm.

“We're done here. Tony?” he called.

Tony reappeared. “Blood done? It's not that I don't like it, because I've certainly dealt with more than my fair share, but I'm just not looking to watch you get stabbed with needles. No offense.”

Matt shrugged.

 

“Okay, so we've got a few more things to get through. I want to do the EEG looking for reactions to stimuli, and after that, I want to do some physical exertion tests.”

“Maybe you should have done that before you made me take a pint of blood,” Bruce told Tony, packing up the vials into a cooler bag.

Tony sniffed indignantly. “If anything, this makes it more realistic. I'm sure he's never fighting on a full blood volume anyway.”

“Umm,” Matt said.

Tony waved a hand. “I'll factor it into any result. But we can do that later. I want to do the EEG first.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

After the countless electrodes had been stuck to his head (he was lying, he definitely knew how many there were, it was 25) Tony and Bruce got Matt settled into a chair that made him feel like he was going to be told to open wide. In front of him, Bruce was setting up something electronic while Tony fiddled with a computer off to the side.

“To start off with, we're going to flash lights at you. This is a pretty standard test, although for you we expect it won't elicit any response, since you are NLP.”

Matt nodded and winced as one of the electrodes pulled at his hair.

“Maybe don't do that,” Tony suggested.

“Yeah, great advice.”

“It also interferes with the signals the EEG picks up, so there's that.”

“Then we're going to expose you to other stimuli, have you listen to noises, make you do small movements so we can map out the parts of the brain you're using. The method isn't as precise as some of the other ones, like the fMRI, but it should give us a good starting point.”

 

It seemed like it took ages as Matt mostly just sat there and was passively exposed to noises, sensations, and lights he couldn't see. Sometimes Tony would ask him to do something, like move a certain body part, or map out the room or what one of them was doing, but for the most part, he just had to sit there.

 

“Sorry this took so long,” Bruce apologized as he removed the electrodes from Matt's head. “But we needed to conduct multiple trials so we can average the results. Jarvis is collating the data right now, and we should be able to tell you some patterns in a few minutes.”

 

It was another five minutes before they pulled Matt back to the computer, which he couldn't see (they kept forgetting that) to explain the results to him.

 

“So, the thing we started with, the flashing lights, is supposed to stimulate activity in your visual cortex, which is in the occipital lobe near the back. Of course, because you can't see, nothing's happening. Which is expected. But what's really interesting is that movement does stimulate that portion of your brain. Movement, sounds, almost everything does. Which tells us that you're using that part of your brain for something else, because it's not being used for vision.”

Matt raised an eyebrow. “So my brain just changed the purpose of that section?”

“Pretty much,” Bruce admitted. “The brain of a young child is incredibly plastic. The adult brain is as well, but not to the same extent. How old were you when you were blinded?”

“Nine.”

“Exactly. So your brain recognized that the occipital lobe wasn't getting any input from your optic nerves. Those connections were pruned away to make room for new connections. As far as I can tell, that area is used for more hearing input as well as something I don't really recognize.” Bruce sounded kind of impressed.

“You use that section as well as what I think is the inferior parietal lobule of the left hemisphere, which simultaneously processes different stimuli. It would make sense that you're using that area as well because it helps with interpretation of sensory information.”

When he noticed Matt's blank look, Bruce laughed. “I'm sorry, this is probably a lot for you, isn't it?”

Matt nodded.

“Okay, I'll try to explain in a different way. So, there's something called sensory substitution. It's a process of using a different sense to compensate for one that has been lost, usually by using technology. There's one such technology that takes video input and converts it to sound. Brighter objects are louder or higher pitched, whatever. But that requires computer programs and intuitive software and equipment. You don't have any of that, but I think your brain is still doing it. You said that you process all the different stimuli you receive into something that creates a sort of image, like an impressionistic painting?”

Matt nodded.

“I think you're using sensory substitution. I think it's almost unconscious and doesn't require much effort on your part, and I think it's absolutely amazing,” Bruce told him.

Matt was shocked.

“Wow,” he said finally.

Bruce nodded. “It is pretty amazing. And of course, it's hard to be sure with this data, because it's not very precise and we can't exactly localize the area of the brain you're using, but I'm fairly confident that is what's happening.”

“We'll have to do an fMRI once we're sure you're not full of metal,” Tony chimed in. He pushed a few buttons, and frowned before turning back to Matt. “There are a lot of spikes that don't correlate with any stimuli that we exposed you to.”

“Remember like four hours ago when you tested my hearing? I can hear things that you don't, and probably can't even imagine hearing. If you really want to isolate the things you expose me to, it'll need to be done in a soundproof room, or at least what passes for one around here.”

Matt was pretty sure Bruce and Tony exchanged a look.

“You didn't think to tell us that before we started?” Tony complained.

Matt shrugged. “Look, I'm not the scientist here. I'm just a lawyer.”

Tony huffed. “Well, it's too late for that now. I guess we'll have to make do with the results we have for now, cause there's a lot more to do and not much more time.”

“I'm pretty sure you owe me a break,” Matt said hopefully.

Tony scoffed. “I suppose. But a quick one, cause then we've got to squeeze in some more tests before I have to release you.”

“Got anything to drink?”

“I'm assuming you don't mean alcohol.”

“Ah, no, not if you want to test my physical limits shortly.”

“Who knows, it could help.”

“I'm fairly certain in all your years of study you've determined the opposite.”

“... no comment.”

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

A short non-alcoholic drink later, and Matt was reluctantly ready to test his physical limits. Whatever that meant.

 

“So, physical limits. Want to see how long you can go without oxygen?”

Matt startled. “What? No!”

Tony laughed. “I was just kidding. I'd never do that. And Bruce would never let me.”

“Nor would I,” Jarvis added.

“I was thinking more along the lines of physical exertion. How long you can run for before you have to stop, push ups, pull ups, that sort of thing.”

Matt nodded. “That I could do.”

Tony lit up. “Great. Cause I have the treadmill set up in the lab with the whole... whatever the equipment is, I don't know, I got Jarvis to order everything.”

Matt groaned. “You know I don't really do running, right?”

“You're kidding me. You run like, everywhere,” Tony argued.

“Um, no. Hell's Kitchen isn't that big. And it's not running. I parkour. It involves much less of the running part and much more of the climbing, jumping, and falling part.”

“Falling?” Tony asked.

“Controlled falling.”

“Right.”

Matt heard the skepticism in his voice. “You know, you're welcome to come next time Clint and I go out. But no suit.”

Tony scoffed. “Yeah, because I need that embarrassment in my life.”

“Hey, I never said you had to participate. You could just sit on a roof and watch.”

“I am clearly _far_ too busy running a company to come and sit on a roof to watch you and bird boy jump around flapping your wings.”

Matt laughed. “I feel like I hit a nerve. Well, either way, you've only got about half an hour left, so you should prioritize what you want to test.”

“Okay, so there's running speed, concentration endurance, remembering, how long you can survive in a vacuum, temperature extremes, surviving without food and water, surviving without sleep, the max number of Gs you can withstand, max altitude, lifting strength, radiation exposure, and holding your breath.” Tony seemed to be talking to himself or Jarvis more than any of this was directed at Matt. Which was good, because he didn't understand much of it. “A lot of those we can cross off the list already, either because they risk your life or would take too much time.”

Tony made some motions in the air, and Matt assumed holograms were being moved around. He wondered what colour they were, or if it mattered.

“That leaves us with running speed, Gs, and lifting strength, in general. I'd also like to find out what muscle type is predominant, but that would require a biopsy, and I don't think you'd agree to that.”

“Nope. Can't I just run for a bit and you can see how fast I can go?”

“Sure,” Tony agreed. “Let's do a VO2 max test.”

 

Matt had no idea what that meant, but apparently it involved Tony strapping an elaborate mask to his face and getting on a treadmill.

“You'll start with walking, then it'll ramp up until you're running. You've got a bar in front of you if you need to hold onto that to keep yourself in place or whatever. Ready?”

“I guess,” Matt said, his voice muffled.

 

Tony turned the treadmill on and off they went.

Matt had never really liked running. It also wasn't really something he could do. If he wanted to run a race, he'd need a guide, and it wasn't really something he was interested in. He could technically run without one, but the concentration he'd need to do it would be high, and that kind of defeated the purpose.

Plus, running hurt. Pavement was hard and unforgiving to his shins and other bones in his legs.

He was reminded of a line from some show Foggy had watched.

“ _I know it keeps you healthy, but god, at what cost?”_

He was pretty sure Foggy had quoted it at some point or another when someone had brought up the topic of jogging as a sport.

 

Matt soon moved from speed walking to full out running, and while he wasn't quite out of breath, he was getting there. He supposed that was the point of the test, that it kept getting harder to make him work more.

Around the point where he was about ready to get Tony to stop the whole thing, Tony warned him the treadmill was about to slow down. Helpful, because he would have gone running off otherwise. Matt wasn't above admitting he clung to the bar in front of him, but it was more for balance than anything else.

 

When the treadmill finally slowed and stopped, Tony helped Matt peel the mask off his face and unstrap the buckles from around his head.

 

“Well?” he asked, only slightly breathless now.

“Pretty good. I think. I did some googling while you were running. You got to about 58 mL/(kg·min), which is above the male average of 35-40. I'm going to give you some wiggle room because I did take a bunch of your blood earlier, and because you weren't really prepared for something like this. I bet you could probably get around mid 60s if you were prepared. But you're still a far cry from Steve, who has been clocked around 110, but I blame the serum for that, and we don't count him.”

 

The alarm on Matt's watch started beeping, and he turned it off.

“I assume that means we're finished?” Tony asked.

Matt nodded. “With the testing at least. I'd like to hang around a bit longer, get something to drink. Talk to Clint.”

Warn him about possible imminent testing that Tony wanted to do.

“Well, you're welcome to it. You're pretty much an Avenger at this point, we just haven't given you the membership card. Which, now that I think about it, I should get on, because it grants you discounts at Starbucks.”

“Secret identity,” Matt reminded him.

“Oh right. Well. Maybe that's a reason to consider ditching it?”

Matt shook his head. “Who came up with that idea though?”

“Clint,” Tony says at the exact moment Matt hazards the same guess.

“I suspected,” Matt sighed.

Tony laughed. “I only found out about it because Nat told me that Steve was at Starbucks one day, and the barista asked for his Avengers card to give him the discount. Thankfully, she stopped it before he tried to deny it.”

 

Clint wasn't actually home, but Matt left a message for him with Jarvis, and grabbed another one of the organic root beers from the communal fridge before heading home. Foggy was probably starting to wonder if Tony had decided to keep him, and Matt couldn't have that. Foggy would have gone in guns blazing to break him out. And not that Matt wouldn't have enjoyed seeing that, but he figured he'd caused his friend enough grief, at least for a while.

 

He headed home to shower and change, then headed to Foggy's place. He was pretty sure Foggy mentioned something about having an animated movie for them to watch. Matt wasn't sure why Foggy loved animated movies so much, but he had to admit, most of them were pretty good.

 

They laughed about some of Tony's more oblivious questions, like how he matched his clothes, while the characters on screen calculated how much money the fox owed in taxes.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Matt received a phone call the next week while he was out punching drug dealers, and when he listened to the voicemail he found out that his blood type was A+, there were no radioactive substances floating around in his blood, that his cholesterol levels were good, but he needed to drink more milk.

Matt laughed, and made a note to pick up some calcium supplements.

 

 


End file.
